I/II. http://scroll.in/article/700278/Greenpeace-activist-explains-why-British-MPs-need-to-hear-about-forest-dwellers-in-India
ARBITRARY POWER Greenpeace activist explains why British MPs need to hear about forest dwellers in India Essar, the company committing the alleged violations, is listed in London, writes Priya Pillai. Priya Pillai Yesterday ยท 07:36 pm Sunday marked yet another black day for fundamental rights in India. Though these charter of rights are enshrined in our Constitution, my experience on Sunday morning at the Delhi airport show that these are not equally accessible to all citizens. Early morning on January 11, I was to leave for London to address a British Parliamentary panel of the effects a London-based British company has on forest communities and regions in India. I was stopped at immigration, my baggage was de-planed, the immigration officer claimed that this was being done on the orders of government of India, and my passport was stamped with the word "offload". No further reason was given. On a day that several heads of state, millions of people representing every possible cross-section of society, marched for Freedom of Speech, a very poor precedent was set on the same by the largest democracy in the world. As a lawyer and activist, this incident has only deepened my conviction to keep fighting for equality and freedom in our country. I've been working in Mahan, Madhya Pradesh, since 2011. Mahan is one of the oldest and largest sal forests in Asia. The local communities are dependent on the forest for their livelihoods and the forest is also home to several rare and endangered species. A portion of this reserve was earmarked for open cast mining. Not only would this displace the forest community, but also impact the livelihoods of thousands more who depend on forest produce; and impact the wildlife, water and air in the region. Community members in Mahan formed the Mahan Sangharsh Samiti to protect their forests and rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act, 2006. The block had been allocated to Mahan Coal (a joint venture of Hindalco and Essar). Essar is listed in London. I was invited by a British parliamentary panel to talk about my work with forest communities in Mahan. We have equally engaged with all major parties and relevant politicians and administrators in India on this issue, and continue to do so. Why was I singled out? The act of engaging all relevant stakeholders is part and parcel of my work as a member of Greenpeace and indeed the responsibility of any vibrant civil society in any functional democracy. Is my profession the reason I was singled out? Surely not, since that would be totally unconstitutional. In this case, the British parliamentary panel were stakeholders as much as the Indian political parties and parliamentarians we engage with. They have the right to be informed of the actions of a British company abroad, and I have the right to supply that information and present the social and environmental impacts of the project - otherwise known as freedom of speech. The act was neither an attack on the Indian government, nor a violation of the laws of our country. Then why was I debarred from leaving the country? The media has reported that my name was on a "lookout circular". Protecting community rights A lookout circular is normally issued when a person is wanted in a case but is absconding; or a red corner notice is pending against him or a person is suspect in a criminal case and is feared to flee the country or has restraining orders from a court against him. I am a mother of a nine-year-old son and I have spent the last three years away from my family with the community in Mahan to save their forest which they call home. Instead of issuing a lookout notice, they need to visit Mahan and speak to the community themselves. Is working with forest communities a criminal activity? Is my fighting to protect fundamental rights the reason behind the government's action? In that case can we really call ourselves a democracy? Surely these cannot be the reason, since they go against the spirit of our Constitution completely. I continue to look for the reason of this arbitrary display of power. The government continues its media inquisition and we have not heard directly from them. I have written to the Ministry of External Affairs and the Home Ministry. The totally baseless allegations that social organisations are affecting the GDP of our country also continue unabated with the government offering no insight on how we managed to achieve this extraordinary feat, far beyond our powers in my opinion. A veil of silence seems to have descended and responsibility continues to be deflected, while ministry officials continue to assert they are oblivious. I continue to be steadfast in my convictions and will continue my work to support rights, equality and freedom. This is not the first roadblock we have faced, and it won't be the last. We are facing a struggle with forces much larger and much more powerful, and the immense support I have received gives me the resilience to carry on. Onwards! Zindabad! A version of this post first appeared on the Greenpeace blog. We welcome your comments at [email protected]. II. From: Kavita Srivastava <[email protected]> Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 15:48:42 +0530 Subject: PUCL Statement Condemning Prevention of Greenpeace Campaigner from Boarding Flight to London PUCL *PEOPLE'S UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES* *270-A, Patpar Ganj, Opposite Anand Lok Apartments, Mayur Vihar I, Delhi 110 091* Phone 2275 0014 PP FAX 4215 1459 *Founder*: Jayaprakash Narayan; *Founding President: *V M Tarkunde *President*: Prof. Prabhakar Sinha;* General Secretary*: Dr. V. Suresh E.mail*: [email protected] <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]> * 13.1.2015 *PUCL Condemns Arbitrary and Illegal Prevention of Travel by * *Ms. Priya Pillai, Greenpeace Campaigner to London* PUCL strongly condemns the arbitrary, highhanded and illegal action of the immigration officials of the Government of India at the New Delhi airport refusing to permit Ms. Priya Pillai, senior Campaigner of Greenpeace, to board her flight to London on 11th January, 2015. Worse still was the vindictive act of the immigration officials stamping Ms. Priya Pillai's passport as `OFFLOADED' thereby effectively ensuring that she cannot leave India until and unless the Government of India revokes the unannounced ban on her travel. Ms. Priya had valid business visa and all her travel papers were in order. There is thus no acceptable reason for preventing Ms. Priya from travelling to London as she is neither a convicted person nor is there any judicial restraint order prohibiting her travel abroad. It is objectionable and shocking that no reason for preventing Ms. Priya from leaving for London was disclosed by any of the authorities on 11th. Incredibly, the Ministry of Home Affairs has reportedly stated that they had no information about such an order being passed, while the immigration officials state that they were acting on orders from the Government of India. PUCL condemns this shameful action on the part of the Government of India's officials from shirking to accept responsibility, as it is unbelievable that such a drastic decision could have been taken without the initiative and instruction at the highest level. The action to prevent Ms. Priya from travelling is particularly deplorable as Ms. Priya was travelling to London at the invitation of British MPs to talk to them about the destructive and potentially damaging environmental and social impact of coal mining in the Mahan forest area of Madhya Pradesh on local tribals and other vulnerable communities. The coal mining project being undertaken by a Essar group company and Hindalco, has been opposed by local people as being environmentally destructive, ecologically devastating and posing serious threat to life and livelihoods of local people. PUCL would like to point out that Ms. Priya, as a whole time environmental campaigner, was only exercising her fundamental right of free speech and expression (u/s Art. 19(1)(a)) to inform people, including ordinary citizens, decision and policy makers and the media about the ill effects of the Mahan coal mining project, which is well within her freedom. A 7-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in `*Maneka Gandhi vs Union of India*' (1978) held that the freedom of speech guaranteed under Art. 19(1)(a) is exercisable not only in India but also outside and if State action sets up barriers to its citizen's freedom of expression in any country in the world it would violate Art. 19(1)(a) as much as if it inhibited such expression within India itself. Ms. Priya and Greenpeace are only fulfilling their "Fundamental Duties" under Article 51A of the Constitution of India which makes it a duty of every citizen of India to "protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures" (Art. 51A(f)) and "to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of enquiry and reform". (Art. 51A(h)). Moreover Art. 48A enjoins the State to "protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life of the country". The peremptory and unexplained action of the Government of India' lends credence to the charge that the government acted clearly to prevent Ms. Priya from sharing with the outside world about the potentially damaging nature of the coal mining project and the legal infirmities abounding in the project clearance. In a globalised world, negative impacts - both economic and environmental - has implications globally and is not confined to national borders. Thus any assertion of rights of local communities, articulation of environmental concerns and creation of public opinion has to necessarily be global. It is therefore sinister of the Government of India to dub rights activists, including the environmental campaigners, as "anti-national" and against "national interest' whenever the raise concerns of environmental destruction posed by specific projects. PUCL calls upon the GoI to immediately desist from criminalising rights activities, including environmental campaigns, and give due recognition to their contribution to the nation. PUCL demands that the Government of India immediately revokes its decision to ban foreign travel by Ms. Priya Pillai of Greenpeace, strike out the stamp in her passport of being "Off loaded" thereby enabling her to travel abroad if all her travel papers are in order. PUCL also calls upon the Government of India to stop hounding and targeting rights activists for coercive or police action and instead create a conducive, non-adversarial, intimidation-free environment enabling people to share, discuss and debate in a democratic spirit crucial issues of development projects and programmes. Sd/- *Prof. Prabhakar Sinha, *President; *Dr. V. Suresh, *General Secretary, PUCL National -- PUCL National Office: 270-A, Ground Floor, Patpar Ganj, Mayur Vihar-I, Delhi-110091 Ph. 011-22750014 Website: www.pucl.org -- Kavita Srivastava (General Secretary) PUCL Rajasthan Address for correspondence : 76, Shanti Niketan Colony, Kisan Marg, Barkat Nagar, Jaipur-302015 Tel. 0141-2594131 mobile: 9351562965 -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
